Help Out Bane, the Three-Legged Wonder Pup

Blogging about the Flyers has opened up a lot of doors for me. I networked with fellow bloggers, made new contacts and it even helped land me a writing gig for a newspaper.

But most importantly, I made new friends, and one of those friends was Victoria O'Reilly, who used to write for Buzz on Broad. I met her up in the press box during a game last season and we became friendly through Twitter.

The reason I bring her up is because her and her boyfriend, Eric, have an awesome little pitbull puppy named Bane (Batman-themed dog names are awesome). Unfortunately for Bane, he had an accident over the summer that's going to cost him his front left leg.

Anyone who has had a dog knows the sacrifices that need to be made to foot an expensive vet bill, especially one of this magnitude. That is why Victoria and Eric have asked for your donations.

On August 29th, our new pitbull puppy Bane escaped our yard and was struck by a speeding vehicle. We rushed him to the nearest 24/7 animal hospital, and anxiously awaited for any news.

"Is he going to be okay?""Will he ever walk again?""Will we be able to afford treatment to best care for our dog?"

After what seemed like the longest hour of our lives, the nurse came out to explain Bane's condition.

He arrived to the hospital in severe shock. He suffered many scrapes and bruises, pneumothorax (air outside the lungs of his chest cavity) likely caused by the sudden impact against his chest, a compound fracture to his left hind leg, and severe nerve damage to his left front leg.

Victoria and I were beside ourself in grief and guilt, but no one was at fault, and Bane was going to survive.

He ended up staying at the hospital for ten days, where he lost about ten pounds, but gained the love and adoration of every nurse and doctor there.

"Bane is the nicest and sweetest dog I have ever met!""You have a really good dog on your hands, he's lucky to have you.""Bane's a real trooper. Never showed one sign of pain or aggression."

After paying for his hospitalization and care, we were on our way home!

He had staples on a wound on his front leg, bald patches where IVs and pain patches were, a big purple camo cast on the broken left hind leg, and his left front leg was paralyzed from the shoulder blade down.

It has since been five weeks since his accident, and after many more vet check ups and cast changes, he is doing much better.

He has mastered the ability to walk on two legs, he has gained most of his weight back, and he is always learning new tricks and commands.

It was really difficult to take in all at once, but after a few days home, we both knew that he was the same old goofy, face licking, cuddling wiggle butt we grew to love.

However, his left front leg will have to be amputated. After many tears and much debate, Victoria and I have come to the conclusion that an amputation will best improve his quality of life.

The vet said once his paralyzed leg starts to get pressure sores and rashes from rubbing on the ground, as well as him dragging his paw, the risk of infection and other serious problems exist, so it's best to get it amputated sooner than later.

Right now, the paralyzed leg is holding him back.

This is is where all of you come in!

Any donation though would be greatly appreciated. Bane will be forever grateful to be able to run around again.

Thank you all so much for taking the time to read about Bane, and have a wiggle butt day!

Thanks again,Eric and Victoria

After reading that, and especially with my friendship with Victoria, I wanted to help spread the word and will make a donation myself.

They are both well below their goal needed right now and I wanted to help in anyway to spread the love for Bane. Even Flyers assistant coach and habitual good guy Ian Laperriere threw out a tweet for people to donate money for Bane.

So, please, if you would like to help out fellow Flyers fans Victoria, Eric, and Bane, please follow this link and send a donation of any amount for Bane's amputation. Thank you for your time, folks.